Apparatus for teaching children to walk



Sept. 4, 1956 G. v. LEGEAI APPARATUS FOR TEACHING CHILDREN To WALK Filed Aug. l5, 1955 United States Patent O APPARATUS FOR TEACHING CHILDREN T WALK Gaston Victor Legeai, Paris, France Application August 15, 1955, Serial No. 528,323 Claims priority, application France September 18, 1954 4 Claims. (Cl. SaS-29) The subject of the invention is an rapparatus for teaching children to walk, by joining the footwear of the adult and of the child for each leg respectively and in such manner as to join the movements of the teacher and the child.

Examples of carrying out the idea of the invention are given herein below without the applicant thereby intending to limit the scope of his invention to the connecting apparatuses specifically described.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 shows in perspective view the footwear of the right leg of the adult and the child, separate, with the connecting apparatus before it is put into position.

Figure 2 shows the same footwear after joining.

Figure 3 represents a modification of the connecting apparatus.

In the drawings reference 1 denotes the right shoe of the adult, reference 2 denotes that of the child. A slipper having a moulded rubber sole has been taken as an example.

In this case the connecting apparatus is a metallic pin 3, in the form of a hairpin, advantageously provided with two shoulders at 4 and 5 to reduce the width of the head 6 of said pin. Within the thickness of the sole 2 there is perforated or provided a rectangular transverse perforation 7, preferably within the region of the plantar arch, the length of said perforation being sufiicient to accommodate the head 6 of the pin as far as the shoulders. In the shoe 1 are cut or provided two parallel boreholes iCe 3, 9 of a depth sufficient to receive the arms of the pin 3 almost up to the shoulders, and at a distance from one another such that the arms of the pin have to be slightly pressed together in order t0 enable them to be introduced into the said boreholes.

At 10 and 1l are shown two spare boreholes enabling the relative positions of the shoes to be slightly changed.

The perforations may be produced by moulding with the soles; but they may also be worked in afterwards. They may be reinforced internally by a lining, preferably of plastic material, which can be fixed to the sole by crimping, gluing, or in some other manner.

Figure 3 shows a modification of the connecting apparatus, in the form of a flat plate, similar to a nailile; in this case, the two respective perforations of the soles are rectangular. The form illustrated is used to advantage; the bulges 12, 13 secure the apparatus by forcing slightly into their housing; the part 14 intended to penetrate into the sole of the adult may be reinforced and knurled. The part 15 intended to penetrate into the sole of the child may be slightly reduced. This modification is suitable for the production of the connecting apparatus in plastic material.

What I claim is:

l. An apparatus for teaching children to walk, characterised by the combination of a pair of adult shoes and a pair of childs shoes and means for connecting together the right shoes of each pair, and the left shoes of each pair, in such manner that the childs shoes are on the inside in relation to the shoes of the adult.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the connecting means is a metal piece which penetrates into two housings cut horizontally respectively within the thickness of the soles of the two shoes to be joined.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that the said means is constituted by apiece in the form of a plate.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim l, characterised in that the said means is a metallic piece in the form of a hairpin, and in that one of the soles has` two housings for the two arms, the other sole having `a single housing for the part of the pin opposed to the arms.

No references cited. 

